Folk hero Tam is all set for Scottish road trip
One of Ayrshire’s most famous folk heroes is heading out on the road.
Thousands of primary school pupils across Scotland will rehearse and perform an opera based on the iconic Burns poem Tam o’ Shanter.
Scottish Opera’s annual tour starts in January with The Tale o’ Tam o’ Shanter, a show created to introduce young people to the world of Burns.
The performance has been written especially for children in primaries five, six and seven and features original lyrics by Ross Stenhouse and music by Karen McIver, who has wrote music for popular family shows produced by Scottish Opera.
Scottish Opera’s director of outreach and education Jane Davidson said: “Our children’s operas make learning both enjoyable and challenging, giving pupils the opportunity to participate in a high- quality, day- long music theatre workshop that ends with a performance for parents and guests.
“Originally commissioned in 2002, this vibrant interpretation of Burns’ iconic poem enables a new generation to explore the culture, identity and language that remain key to the enduring appeal of Scotland’s most famous poet.”
First published in 1791, while living in Dumfries, Tam o’ Shanter tells the tale of farmer Tam as he makes his way home after a drunken adventure, past Alloway Kirk filled with witches, warlocks and the Devil himself.
The poem also gave Ayr United their famous nickname, as Burns boasted: “Auld Ayr, wham ne’er a town surpasses, for honest men and bonnie lasses.”
Schools will be provided with high quality teaching resources, including a teachers’ support pack, to introduce the songs from The Tale o’ Tam o’ Shanter to pupils in advance. A team of opera performers and arts education specialists will then spend a day rehearsing and preparing the pupils for the choreographed, fully- costumed performance of The Tale o’ Tam o’ Shanter for friends and family.
The performance day visits Ayrshire schools between Wednesday, February 1 and Monday, February 6 starting with Kilmarnock’s Silverwood Primary School before moving on to the town’s New Farm Primary School, then to Auchinleck Primary School and Newmilns Primary School.